Word was circulating around the county at the weekend that Donaghy had suffered a major set-back in his rehabilitation from a groin and stomach muscle injury, which could jeopardise the Austin Stacks man's involvement for much of the Championship.

However, speaking to The Kerryman on Sunday after Kerry's win over Westmeath, Fitzmaurice dismissed the talk of a set-back for the former Footballer of the Year, and said that Donaghy is "95% of the way there" with regard to getting back to full training and playing football.

"It's slower than had been planned but there's no set back," Fitzmaurice said. "He's still rehabing it, he's still going to get right. He's ninety-five per cent of the way there. It's just a matter of getting it the last five per cent. Last summer he managed (the injury) for the summer but this summer we'd like if it was gone for good and glory and he didn't have to be worrying about it. He's not far away. He's working very hard, it's just that last couple of per cent to get him one hundred per cent right.

Asked if Donaghy will be passed fit enough to make the five-day training camp in Portugal later this month, Fitzmaurice added: "We'd hope so but if he's not it's not the end of the world. That's still a good bit away from Championship so it's just a case of we want him right and if that takes a couple of weeks longer then so be it."

Meanwhile, Killian Young and Declan O'Sullivan were both back in competitive action at the weekend - Young for his club Renard in the county league and O'Sullivan for Dromid Pearses in the league as well as captaining Liebherr to All-Ireland glory in the Inter-Firms football final.

Young is close to making the Kerry panel for Sunday's game against Colrk, but Fitzmaurice confirmed that O'Sullivan will only rejoin the Kerry squad next Tuesday and will not be in the squad for Sunday's visit of Cork to Tralee.